Jacinda Ardern’s dodgy backroom deal paying off the squatters on private land at Ihumatao has been deemed “unlawful” by the Auditor-General:
The Auditor-General has deemed the Government’s Ihumatao deal “unlawful” because Parliament did not approve a new spending category to purchase the land.
The disputed south Auckland land was purchased from Fletcher Building in December for $30 million. The Government said it was bought using the Land for Housing Programme, which falls under the KiwiBuild umbrella.
But the Auditor-General has investigated the deal and found that the Government ended up having to create a special spending appropriation in February because the purchase did not fit within existing housing policy.
Newshub revealed the Government was advised by Treasury not to use the Land for Housing programme. The Government proceeded to set up a new Housing and Urban Development fund specifically to purchase the land.
But because the Government did not get Parliament’s approval to create the new spending category, which is required to spend public money, the Auditor-General says the Ihumatao purchase was “unlawful”.
“The payment of $29.9 million used to purchase the land was incurred without the proper authority,” the Auditor-General said in a letter to National.
“The Ministry did not seek the correct approvals, the expenditure was incurred without appropriation and without authority to use imprest supply. For these reasons, the payment is unlawful until validated by Parliament.”
Newshub
No doubt we will see urgency invoked and retrospective legislation passed to correct their illegal deal.
But no matter what they do, this shows that this Government is shonky and does dodgy illegal deals without a care for real world consequences.
Jacinda Ardern can own this. She was the one having secret meetings at an airport hotel with the squatters, getting Robertson to send letters to Fletchers, having a Crown negotiator also represent Kingitanga creating a direct conflict of interest and strong-arming Phil Goff into giving concessions to Fletchers on other developments of theirs to get the deal across the line. It’s her deal, she can own this stuff up.
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